Government & Policy

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it will pursue a market-based approach to site selection for its deployments going forward, and will bring its total 2026 deployments to 13 medical facilities.

If the DEA's role is not properly limited, there could be an overreach where the agency influences or even dictates how healthcare practitioners make decisions, which could impact patient care, says Dan Cohen, president of RTM company Adhere+.

Leaders of government public policy at HIMSS are prioritizing health equity, AI regulation, cybersecurity and workforce development while urging unified policies that support healthcare innovation.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, along with other agencies using federal EHRs, experienced a system outage just weeks after assuring lawmakers about the success of ongoing improvement efforts. 

This comes after pulling funding for some telehealth services amid receding uptake and cost-cutting. 

The Global Digital Health Partnership works to foster international collaboration to strengthen digital health infrastructure, interoperability and system resilience globally.

Tom Leary, senior vice president and head of Government Relations at HIMSS, gives a rundown of healthcare priorities.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says tribes are independent nations that should have control over their data.

Also, Northeast Health Wangaratta has upgraded its EMR system.

The GAO questions simultaneous electronic health record improvements and new deployments, while the VA deputy secretary nominee speaks of urgency to complete the long-stalled project. The implementation team offers progress updates and automation plans.